'Game of Thrones' Shocks: Spoiler Warning
1:24

SPOILER WARNING: Another wedding, another shocking Game of Thrones episode.

WSJ Live

14 Apr 2014

Entertainment

RIP Joffrey Baratheon.Source: Supplied

IT’S fair to say that Game of Thrones has some VERY loyal fans, but according to playwright David Macaray, it’s time for those people to “get real”.

In an article he wrote for The Huffington Post, Macaray admits he’s a fan of the fantasy drama, but he’s definitely not a fan of the way some obsessed viewers bang on about the show:

(WARNING: SPOILERS)

There was a time, two or three decades ago, when people could sit down and watch a TV show: watch it, enjoy it, appreciate it, be amused by it, perhaps even contemplate parts of it the next day, without resorting to superlatives like “It’s the best show on TV!!” or “It’s the greatest TV show there ever was!!”

Why the superlatives? Why can’t we simply be entertained and leave it that?

Fans have a right to be obsessed with Kit Harington, he’s amazing as Jon Snow.Source: Supplied

Which brings us to Game of Thrones, the HBO fantasy series that’s causing otherwise reasonable people to go around saying preposterous things like Thrones is the greatest show in the history of television. People, please. As Archie Bunker would say to Edith, you need to “stifle it”.

Full disclosure: I watch Thrones. I’ve seen every episode. I enjoy the show. I love Tyrion, I hate Cersei, I identify with Brienne of Tarth. Indeed, I owe HBO a debt of gratitude for providing me with an enjoyable hour on Sunday night, and like the Lannisters, I always pay my debts. Thank you, HBO, ye have done well.

Game of Thrones more or less makes up for Veep and Carnivale.

But the best show in the history of television? Impossible. First of all, how can something be the “best show in the history of television” when 80 per cent of it is lurid sex and violence? That’s like saying Hustler magazine is better than The New Yorker. Not to come off as prudish, but let’s be honest here. This show is all about sexual intercourse and murder, done in armour.

Granted, one could say the same about HBO’s earlier series Rome, but at least that series had actual historical underpinnings, as there was, in fact, such a thing as the Roman Empire. Yes, you had copious amounts of intercourse, nudity, and bloodshed in Rome, but you also had Julius Caesar, Marc Antony and the Roman Senate.

But Thrones has no such historical antecedents. It’s the depiction of non-stop murder and sexual hi-jinx set against a totally fictional backdrop. The night may be dark and full of terrors, but those who insist that Game of Thrones is better than, say, The West Wing or the Larry Sanders Show are full of crap.

One sees the same sort of gushing and hyperventilation aimed at The Walking Dead, AMC’s mega-hit zombie series. It’s a fun show. I liked it. I saw the first three seasons before realising it wasn’t based on fact. Again, why can’t we simply “like” a television show — enjoy it, appreciate it, goof on it — without feeling compelled to coronate it?

Is “Game of Thrones” as good as "The West Wing"?Source: News Limited

People are so enthralled with The Walking Dead the network has produced an accompanying spin-off called Talking Dead, where grown-up people sit on a sofa and talk about what they have just seen. It’s a televised chat room. And they talk about this zombie caper with such solemnity and reverence, you’d think they were discussing Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason.

Again, I’m a fan of Thrones. There is no way I’m going to miss an episode. Was I thrilled when Joffrey died? Of course. Am I rooting for Khaleesi to succeed? Of course. Do I think we haven’t seen the last of Shae? It’s hard to say. But before I’d call Game of Thrones the best show, I’d join those other fellas in calling myself the King of the North.

Do you agree with David Macaray’s thoughts? Let us know in the comments section below.

David Macaray is a playwright and author (It’s Never Been Easy: Essays on Modern Labor, 2nd Edition).

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Comments on this story

Mark of Port Macquarie Posted at 2:01 PM April 16, 2014

Firefly is clearly the greatest show ever.
GoTers need to be schooled in that fact first.

Brigga of PNG Posted at 2:00 PM April 16, 2014

Yeah . . . it is!

Jez Posted at 1:58 PM April 16, 2014

Has a go at people for saying that GoT is the best television show ever, sanctimoniously telling them they need to 'get real' and 'just enjoy the show' then proceeds to tell them about shows that he thinks are better and says that these people that don't agree with him are full of crap.
The only thing he has proven here is that being a playwright doesn't make you immune to being an idiot.
He may not agree with people claiming its the best show ever but he is the only one that is full of crap.

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